The Difference Between Soccer and Football

The debate between these two names is as storied as the relationship between America and Britain and concerns the two parties. Those from the USA will fiercely maintain that what the Brits call football is soccer, while the Brits will hotly refute that the opposite is true.  American Football and British Football are equally both nation’s main sport, and what they are known for on the world stage, so it is easy to see why both countries argue that their definition is the correct one. In the face of this, the history of the games should be looked at to get a good understanding of how the meaning of each definition evolved, and indeed which is the correct one to use.

In Britain, the word soccer is viewed as a ‘dirty’ American transformation of the word football. This annoys many Brits as they argue that football is a British sport. It was invented in Britain, popularised by Britain and so the world should call it what they call it. This would make sense in a vacuum, but history suggested something different. The British version of football, kicking a ball with the feet, has existed in many formats throughout history since the ball was invented. However, the actual rules of the football that is played in Britain today were written in December 1863, not long after the Football Association was created. The important detail here though is that football under the FA’s newly formed rules was known as association football, and the shortened name for this was assocer. Ironically, the name was shortened even further, becoming the word as we know it today – soccer.

Whilst many Brits do not really know this history, it is humorous to think that they invented the term that they so hotly contend with today. The name for the game spread across the pond to America, where they understandably called it soccer as Britain did. However, Britain changed their minds, and opted to return to the original name of the game before the FA came in and it was called football once again. This flip-flop nature is the reason why Britain and America now the same game two different things, and it is clear that Britain caused the confusion in the first place.

Despite this, the fact that the oldest known name for the game is indeed football means that despite the incisiveness of Britain, the historic and definitive name for the game is football. While Americans and Brits may never agree on names, one thing that they share is a love for sports betting. Both peoples revel in the thrill of a well-researched bet coming in, a promo code to bet with bet365 can be found here, and it is likely that this similarity will never fade.

There it is, the actual history of how the two terms for the sport arose. While both sides have valid reasons for their name being the only name, logically, football can be the only victor here.